Two schools shuttered amid declining enrollment, low performance

By: Debbie Kelley, the Gazette

Two schools under the wing of an incubator for blended and online education are closing, displacing 59 students and nine employees, the Colorado Digital Board of Cooperative Education Services announced this week. The organization’s board voted 4-1 last week to shut down Denver-based Mountain View Virtual and Colorado Springs-based Rocky Mountain Digital Academy. “One of the criticisms of education is when we see a program that doesn’t work, we keep doing the same thing. We’re trying to break that mold,” said Colorado Digital BOCES board president Marie La-Vere Wright.

http://gazette.com/two-schools-shuttered-amid-declining-enrollment-low-performance/article/1606234

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=29625

Children’s reading books should only have ONE picture per page to maximise learning, researchers find

by Mark Prigg, Daily Mail

While children’s book are often brightly coloured and stuffed with pictures, new research has found they could actually be making it harder for children to learn to read. University of Sussex psychologists have shown that having more than one illustration per page results in poorer word learning among pre-schoolers. They say more than this leads to ‘picture overload’ among toddlers.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4655838/Childs-reading-books-ONE-picture-page.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=29618

Bringing ID to Higher Ed

by ATD

Most professors approach us for assistance, so there’s already some trust. When I do collaborate with a long-time professor who isn’t keen on working with us, I barely talk in our first few meetings. I actively listen for what’s really going on until I understand the teaching philosophy, and then I start addressing issues. I emphasize that the professors are the content experts and I’m the learning consultant. This highlights our shared mission to educate students and usually gives me some leeway to offer solutions.

https://www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2017/07/Bringing-ID-to-Higher-Ed

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=29610

Coursera Relaunches Classic Computer Science Courses

by Sue Gee, I Programmer

Many of the Computer Science courses that we feared had been assigned to the scrapheap have reappeared in Coursera’s catalog. This has been done unobtrusively and without any announcement and so might miss the attention it deserves. Based on information received by several course providers, many believed that in the move from the original to the new Coursera platform a large number of courses were likely to be lost. On request Coursera provided a list of 90 courses that have transitioned to the new platform since the old one shut on June 30th and it includes the following 25 Computer Science ones; they are listed at the link below.

http://www.i-programmer.info/news/150-training-a-education/9910-coursera-relaunches-classic-computer-science-courses.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=16345

6 Reasons To Start Thinking About A Virtual Reality Career — NOW

By Christopher Watkins, Udacity Blog

Today, Virtual Reality still offers opportunities to get in on the ground floor. The field is set to grow exponentially in the next few years, and if you join late, opportunities will be fewer, competition will be stiffer, and established experts will be tenacious about maintaining their positions. Betting on VR now by jumping in while it’s still comparatively early days is arguably a risk, but it’s only a bad bet if the field goes belly up, and no one believes that’s going to happen.

http://blog.udacity.com/2016/07/6-reasons-start-thinking-virtual-reality-career-now.html

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=16343

Palm Beach Schools To Unveil Online Learning With Unfortunate Name

by BocaNewsNow

We don’t mean to be mean, but Palm Beach County School District’s latest foray into online learning may need quick rebranding. “I-Ready” sounds like something spoken by kids in need of grammatical help. “Are you ready for lunch? I ready!” “Are you ready for a great day at school?” “Yes, I ready!” “Hey Cookie Monster, are you ready for a cookie snack?” “YES! I ready!” Superintendent Dr. Robert Avossa — who BocaNewsNow.com is a fan of — is announcing the new online math system early next week at Omni Middle School. To be clear: Dr. Avossa didn’t name the system, just approved, with the School Board, the $5.6 Million cost.

http://bocanewsnow.com/2016/07/15/palm-beach-schools-to-unveil-online-learning-with-unfortunate-name/

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from Educational Technology http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?p=16340

Technology helps level playing field for special ed

By Paige Allen and Emily O’Donnell, SUN CHRONICLE

It turns out special education isn’t just for special education students. And, it seems there’s an app for almost everything and everyone. When Kim Janssen talks about how Attleboro schools use technology to teach students with disabilities, for example, she refers to something called “universal design.” Janssen, the assistive technology coordinator for Attleboro schools, said universal design is a concept that recognizes the wide range of human ability, taking into account physical, perceptual and cognitive disabilities, as well as body types. She said designers use it to create products and methods that are beneficial for everyone.

http://www.thesunchronicle.com/attleboro/technology-helps-level-playing-field-for-special-ed-students/article_c1670737-cf2b-5a02-8855-c5e42ee8cc66.html

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APS virtual summer school pilot: Online or off course?

by Maureen Downey, Atlanta Journal Constitution

Nearly 800 high school students in the Atlanta Public Schools attended an online summer school that had to be overhauled when it became clear it wasn’t moving students fast or far enough. Along with adding two days to the 16-day summer term, APS discarded the online component and brought in teachers for small group instruction. In a bit of artful dodging to the question of the program’s success, Strickland said, “As the world of technology evolves and provides increased opportunities for the individualization of education, APS is committed to embracing innovative practices that ensure more students are successful. With that innovation, however, comes the expectation that there will be a steep learning curve, and that not every implementation will go flawlessly.”

http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2015/07/10/aps-virtual-summer-school-pilot-online-or-off-course/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/Q46sMqtsmPM/

Online learning for jailed youth to expand: County Office of Education responds to civil grand jury report

by San Mateo Daily Journal

The San Mateo Office of Education is working to expand online learning for incarcerated youth in court schools, according to a response letter to the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury. The grand jury investigated services for jailed youth and concluded the Office of Education should ensure that credits obtained by juveniles in the program should be counted toward graduation and that online education should be a greater priority.

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2015-07-10/online-learning-for-jailed-youth-to-expand-county-office-of-education-responds-to-civil-grand-jury-report/1776425146471.html

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Python bumps off Java as top learning language

by Joab Jackson, PC World

Python has surpassed Java as the top language used to introduce U.S. students to programming and computer science, according to a recent survey posted by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Eight of the top 10 computer science departments now use Python to teach coding, as well as 27 of the top 39 schools, indicating that it is the most popular language for teaching introductory computer science courses, according to Philip Guo, a computer science researcher who compiled the survey for ACM. The three largest, most popular online class providers—Coursera, edX and Udacity—also offer introductory programming courses in Python, Guo found.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2451880/python-bumps-off-java-as-top-learning-language.html

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/Y-iG5Sj7mzM/

Students More Motivated in Online Learning Environments

by Mark Belles, Blackboard Blog

At ISTE this year, we released a report along with Project Tomorrow that reflected the views of over 400,000 K-12 students, educators, administrators and parents on digital learning. And we found some very interesting results:

Students in digital learning environments are more interested in what they are learning in school, more motivated to do well, and feel a stronger connection to their school than students in traditional, face-to-face classes.

Nearly 50% of virtual high school students say they are interested in what they were learning in school, while only 32% of traditional high school students said the same.

More than one-third of virtual school students said they are motivated because they like school. While only a quarter of traditional school students say the same.

While only 24% of traditional high school students say their school cares about them as a person, nearly 40% of students who have had some type of school-based digital learning experience believe that their school cares about them.

http://blog.blackboard.com/students-more-motivated-in-online-learning-environments/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/DPkikMi7qp0/

Report: 10 Security Functions Recommended to Info Security Officers

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Information security in the education segment is becoming more demanding, and as a result the tools and tactics necessary for securing schools is churning. A recent presentation at Gartner’s Security & Risk Management Summit laid out 10 “top” technologies and approaches security professionals should consider adding to their security portfolios.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/07/08/report-10-security-functions-coming-to-the-forefront.aspx

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